King Lear Essay

Shakespeare’s â€Å"King Lear† in a play filled with betrayal and various acts of deception. This becomes evident in the first few lines. The superficiality of Goneril and Regan empty words combined with their lack of love for their father foreshadows the events to come. We first see dishonesty in Act1 Scene1 with Lears â€Å"love test†. Goneril and Regans elegant yet false speeches oppose what they really feel. Goneril speaks first and says â€Å"I love you more than words can wield the matter†, the reason why there are no words to express this love, is because she feels none for him, it does not exist. Regan emphasizes the value of her love; she should be priced at Gonerils â€Å"Worth†, however we can see that her love is even less than her sisters when she professes Gonerils affection â€Å"Comes to short†. Her greed is adamant. Both daughter’s deception and hunger only for themselves, already in the first act establishes an emotional uncertainly and introduces ideas of what’s ahead. Cordelia speaks last, and although stands up for genuine feeling â€Å"according to my bond, no more no less†, does not flatter Lear in the way he wished. He asks her to â€Å"ment your speech a little†, as feels she should do the same as her sisters. In the speech Cordealisa honesty is seen by Lear as a rebelling and humiliation of him. He feels his heart has been lied to by her refuses in the love test to say â€Å"nothing†, assuming therefore that she does not love him. Yet could we question Lears betrayal? His actions and intentions for breaking up the state were not that of a responsible ruler, renaissance society was patriarchal and genrotocraic; they did not consider retirement, nor did they pass on their power and wealth when they reached old age. They retained their power until they died. Also opposed, was the divine right not kings. As appointed to by god this was a very important period. The fact the King defied the natural order itself has to be questioned. As we can see, Lears misuse of power proceeds from here to his tragic downfall. Not only does he deceive society with his position, but also his daughters. He is used to wielding his power with absolute authority and expects complete obedience, â€Å"though better know’st the offices of nature, bond of childhood, effects of courtesy, dues of gratitude, thou half o’th kingdom hast†. After giving away his kingdom he should have no rights or power yet is constantly expressing to his daughters â€Å"I gave you all† telling them they owe him. Lears attempt to divide power from responsibly from the beginning of the first act expresses the point he needs to learn to distinguish between appearances and reality. The next deceitful character is Edmund who is the bastard son of Gloucester and a victim of the law primogeniture. As an illegitimate son he is entitled to nothing, but this doesn’t stop his political ambition. This is expressed in Act 1, â€Å"Why bastard? Wherefore base? When my dimensions are as well compact†. Edmund argues he possesses all the person qualities of his brother and is determined to â€Å"prosper† no matter what. He lies to his farther in devious and cunning ways. By producing fake documents and fooling him into believing that Edgar seeks his life. By acting as if he does not want his farther to see the letter â€Å"Nothing my lord†, reverse psychology is used, showing Edmunds true colours. He then pushes the story further â€Å"if you violently proceed against him, mistaking his purpose, at would make a great gap in your honour†. This false act concerning honour makes Edmund out to appear good and true. Yet again just like Lear, Gloucester has fallen for false appearances and words. The subplots both now mirror as the evil children gain ground from lies, betrayal and deception. As well as emotional aspersion, physical deception is also apparent. It’s used in A1S4, when Kent disguises himself. He disguises himself as Caius, a serving man who seeks employment. Edgar then in Act2S3 disguises himself as â€Å"mad beggar tom†. By doing this I feel Shakespeare is expressing how the character deserve freedom to justice. They both have been reduced in status. In Edgars situation the contrast between life as an absolute monarch and the powerless existence described here â€Å"poor tyrlygod! Poor tom† that’s something yet: Edgar I am nothing†, could not seem starker. Both Kent and Edgar do feel free now, and there is emphasis in how they speak to show they do not care for royalty and positions. The point being how deceptive outward appearances are in King Lear. Virtuous characters assume disguises in order to survive, continuing to do well in their new lowly roles. In contrast outward appearances do appear to represent the loss of power â€Å"Off off! You lendings†. To Lear his clothing represents his folly. Lastly, there’s the fool, who is ironically different from his title. He plays a number of roles; voice of conscience, social commentator, truth teller and even a representative for Cordealia. While the fool is commonly an idiot, Lears fool seems to understand the political situation better than the king himself. â€Å"She will taste like this as a crab does to a crab (A1S5), the fool tries to warn Lear about both goneril and Regan being as sour as each other. Therefore one is no better than the other. His songs and jokes seem to be aimed at teaching Lear about the errors he has made rather than making him laugh; therefore his humour acts as a disguise. In many eyes the fool is like a commentary on significant events outlining or foreshadowing things whenever he appears. In conclusion Shakespeare’s interest in deception in King Lear is shown throughout. If the characters are not emotionally deceptive like Goneril and Regans empty words in A1S1: â€Å"I love you more than space and liberty†, in the love test. Then physically they are, such as Kent and Edgar, Which was one: to help the king and the other to escape punishment that they did not deserve. Most characters deliberately misrepresent themselves but others are naturally difficult to understand. Some try to gain power, others are only protecting themselves. There is an extreme contract between reality and truths about the appearances that make people out to be something out they are not. This quality about the characters fuels the plot and intrigues the audience, develops the play and brings it to an ultimate end.